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This differential response suggests an early-life programming eff

This differential response suggests an early-life programming effect on the generation of antibodies during a B-cell-dependent immune response. Much of the programming literature has focused on poor maternal

nutrition as the most likely candidate for these early-life effects, and uses low birth weight as a proxy indicator for poor nutrition in utero. However, low birth weight may also be predictive of a number of post-natal factors that could also be implicated in defining later disease risk. Recent attention has focused on the association between an infant’s rate of growth during early-infancy and later disease risk, with faster rates of post-natal ‘catch-up’ growth implicated as a possible causative factor for certain chronic disease outcomes ABT-888 cell line [10]. The current study was therefore designed to investigate in more detail the relationship between nutritional status early in life and response to vaccination in young adults. Here, we investigate antibody response to two polysaccharide vaccines in a cohort of Gambian adults with detailed Fludarabine supplier anthropometric data available from birth and from early infancy. Since 1949, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) has been collecting health and demographic

data on the populations of three villages (Keneba, Kantong Kunda and Manduar) in the rural West Kiang region of The Gambia. From 1976, and with the establishment of a permanent field station in Keneba, this data collection has incorporated detailed information on maternal and infant health, including birth anthropometry and infant growth. In the current study, our recruitment pool consisted of all adults, born in the three study villages since 1976 and for who were aged 18 years or older on 1st January 2006. Subjects were excluded if they could not be traced or were not accessible for follow up, if they were already

enrolled in another MRC study or if they were known to be pregnant at the time of recruitment. Ethical approval for the study was given by the Ethics Committee at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and by the joint Gambian Government/MRC The Gambia Ethics Committee. Informed written consent was obtained from each individual participant. The study took place between February and May 2006. Subjects were seen on two occasions, 14 days apart. At visit 1 (Day 0) weight, height, waist and hip circumferences were measured using standard equipment. A single sample of fasted venous blood was collected for measurement of plasma leptin and serum neopterin: leptin was measured as a proxy marker of adiposity and neopterin as a marker of immune activation. This blood sample was additionally used for the assessment of pre-vaccination serum antibody titres and for the preparation of a thick film for detection of malaria parasites by microscopy.